


Beyond Our Wishes

by xJordanKayX



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Gen, Minor Harvey Kinkle/Sabrina Spellman, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Soul-Searching, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-12 18:57:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19235146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xJordanKayX/pseuds/xJordanKayX
Summary: Zelda Spellman reluctantly finds her Soulmate in who she believes to be High School teacher Mary Wardwell. Little does she know the woman is not who they think she is.This is what happens when Fate pushes them together and when Zelda ultimately finds out who this Mary Wardwell really is.UPDATES ONCE A WEEK!NOTE: I have removed my authors note!Chapter 1 is Chapter 1!!Chapter 2 is Chapter 2!!





	1. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where they first met...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Destiny grants us wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes"
> 
> \- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Chapter I 

It starts out as a beautiful weekend, one Zelda Spellman doesn't think could be tainted by anything. Foolishly, as if she hadn't met her niece, she'd woken up to a bright Friday morning and had concrete plans of not doing anything for the entirety of her weekend.

Since her sister decided to get a full time job outside of the family business, where she had been putting in work before starting at the small cafe in town, and her nephew's been spending a lot more time with his new boyfriend or at the Academy, to help educate young witches and warlocks, instead of helping Zelda out as much as he used to, she had taken it upon herself to cut back on work, too. For a few weeks now, she's closing the mortuary for non-emergencies more often and tries to make a habit out of not doing any work on the weekends in general – unless of course there is something needing urgent attention that hadn't been managed to be finished by Friday afternoon. 

And, since there is no such thing waiting for her just now, the red-head had decided to stay in bed way longer than she normally ever would. Watching the sun rise up through the curtains she hadn't closed for exactly that reason last night. She'd sent away Sabrina asking her to breakfast three hours ago and assured Hilda she was feeling perfectly fine when she'd come checking on her just before leaving for a shift at Dr. Cerberus. She hadn't even had it in her to roll her eyes at the insistent questioning from her younger sister. Yes, she would have probably worried just as much, if she hadn't found herself at the set breakfast table before anyone else, newspaper and lit cigarette already in hand, waiting for the coffee to boil and the bread to toast. She's also in way too good a mood this morning, to be annoyed by anything.

Hilda will be at work until at least four o'clock. Ambrose is going to be at the Academy even longer, who knows if he even plans to come today at all. And Sabrina has some school thing to set up at Baxter High. Which means, technically she doesn't have any classes this Friday, but with a bit of luck, Zelda does still have the place to herself for most of the day. Just exactly how she had planned it. 

Skipping lunch in favor of a very late breakfast, reading a few passages of her Satanic Bible, maybe sneaking in a mortal novel or two when nobody's there to witness it. But, first and foremost, some peace and quiet throughout the whole weekend, because Saturday is Baxter High's annual fair and charity drive, which both Hilda and Sabrina will be attending and Zelda has absolutely no intention to. 

Mortal affairs are something she tries to keep her nose out off, because meddling in those always ends up in chaos and/or heartbreak. And visiting an event hosted by a school she's never wanted her niece to attend to anyway, is at the very bottom of her list of things she actually wants to do. If she'd be more interested in the topic, she would have debated if it even made the list at all. 

As of now, her family hasn't tried roping her into going yet, and Zelda is pretty confident she'd gotten out of it. 

That is, at least until the front door swings open and her niece and her group of friends walk in, heading straight for the parlor and Zelda's tranquil space. Two of them seem at least slightly sorry to disturb her, the other one is intimidated by Zelda by default since he's upgraded from good friend to boyfriend. 

Sabrina's been best friends with Rosalind Walker and Theo Putnam since the kindergarten Hilda signed her into. Back then, Theo has still been known as Suzie and when a few years back, Suzie started embracing her male identity fully, Roz and Sabrina had nothing but support for their friend. The name change and the decicion to want to start Hormone Therapy only came recently. 

They'd met Harvey Kinkle when they started junior year two years ago. The first thing a half mortal/half witch girl had realized then, was that, whenever she so much as touched Harvey, the strings around their pinkies, the ones the mortal boy couldn't see but everyone is born with, formed a physical connection for as long as their touch lasted. It's a fickle thing, not touchable, even to the witches and warlocks and other magical folk able to see it, and it stretches and shortens when touch is drawn over exposed skin. It is also the clear indication of soulmates from mortal fairy tales and something both Zelda and Hilda had only ever seen with Sabrina's parents and a handful of random people on the streets. 

With her fourteen years of age, she hadn't been all that interested in boys and boyfriends yet, and Zelda had been glad for that. The last thing she needs is another mortal possibly one day married into the family. It had brought nothing but trouble the first time around.   
When Sabrina had, six months ago, finally re-introduced the boy as her boyfriend Hilda had been over the moon happy for them – and Zelda had bitten her tongue and said nothing. She knows her niece and pushing her into something usually ends up with her doing the exact opposite. So she'd relented to letting the relationship fizzle out again on it's own. Soulmate or not, it doesn't automatically make you fall in love or promise you the happy ever after you think you're getting. At least, that's what Zelda likes to believe. With the amount of people not ending up with their destined soulmates, there really is no indication in either direction. 

The teenager flops down onto the couch, completely unfazed by her aunt's glare, which has the other three seemingly more uncomfortable than just a moment ago. Zelda has to bite her lip to keep from smiling. 

“We won't stay long” and Zelda swears she can see the three teenagers visibly relax. “We just need to pick something up and I was going to ask you to come by tomorrow” 

Ah, so that's the moment Zelda has been dreading. Saying no to her niece is no easy task, even if she does manage to do it often enough, but she's brought reinforcements for this particular question. Zelda knows, Sabrina really wants her to be there, but the girl isn't stupid. Waiting until the last moment and hoping the presence of her friends will sway Zelda to say yes. That's not her though and she has no idea why her niece thinks she would just give in like that. 

“Sabrina” she says with a sigh, putting the book down, not even bothering to mark the page. “You know how I feel about those public events” It's not so much the public events she isn't fond of, but she can't say 'mortal' without sounding like the crazy aunt that spends her time around too many dead bodies and is maybe just plain wrong in the head. And that's probably what Sabrina has been counting on when bringing her friends. 

So, with a heavy eye roll, she puts on her best pleading face. It used to be the most effective thing when she'd been younger and, even today, Zelda's almost been tempted to give in. Hadn't the girl just not opened her mouth for her next argument. 

“Please?!” A little pout and impressive puppy dog eyes do the trick most of the time. “You don't have to stay long” Pretty convincing argument, Zelda has to admit. “And I really want you to finally meet my teacher” 

And that's the second reason Zelda really doesn't want to go. Not even for five minutes to appease her niece and sister. She has never met Ms Wardwell in person, but the way Sabrina and even Hilda talk about her, Zelda thinks she knows everything she needs to about the woman. To say she hates her might be a little exaggerated, but she's really not interested in meeting the witch that has, as of late, integrated herself so much into her niece's life that the girl doesn't even come to her anymore before meddling in affairs she has no business meddling in. 

Hilda has met her a few times during parent/teacher conferences and school events she loves to go to, even way before she's outed herself to be a witch, too. And if Zelda didn't know better she'd swear her sister was sporting an enormous crush on her. The way she talks of and about the teacher obviously shows that Zelda's the only one that has a problem with her and her constant interfering. 

She opens her mouth to let out a determined refusal, why wouldn't she after all she thinks about the teacher and the school fair in general. What leaves her lips, however, is anything but, and the only thing she knows to blame it on is the sight of the four teenagers in front of her. Looking like that. Sabrina's coached them well. 

“Alright, I'll be there” She's immediately engulfed in a hug by her niece. “Now get out off here, before I change my mind” 

“Yes, of course. We're as good as gone” In her giddiness the girl almost trips over her friend's feet rounding the couch. “Thank you, auntie Zee”

The last thing Zelda hears before opening a random page in her book and lighting herself a cigarette is two sets of feet rushing up and down the stairs in record time. And then the front door slams shut. 

\-----

Zelda can't pinpoint an exact moment of her very long life in which she's felt more uncomfortable, or quite possibly just as uncomfortable, than right now. Her sister and niece are all over the school event they arrived at twenty minutes ago. Ambrose has gotten out off going by claiming he's helping out at the Academy, but they are all pretty sure it's just an excuse to hang out with Luke and not at the boring fair with his family. And Zelda wants nothing more than to leave. She had however promised Sabrina to participate in at least one booth event (she's pretty sure sticking to her niece's one and the introduction of their newly founded club to support Theo) and to meet her teacher. She couldn't be less interested in both, and, unfortunately, neither has happened yet. As faculty adviser for the club, it will be just a matter of time, until Ms Wardwell makes her way over and as much as she isn't looking forward to it, Zelda still hopes this moment will be soon. It is probably her ticket out off here. 

She's standing awkwardly to the side, desperately wishing for a cigarette, if only she has something to do with her hands. Hilda is deep in conversation with a pair of parents Zelda vaguely identifies as someone she's met before, but that's as far as recognition goes.   
And that's just it. She doesn't know anyone here, to all fault of her own she admits, but it doesn't make the situation any better. It just makes her stand out even more in a sea full of people mingling and chatting away. 

Hilda has tried to include her in the conversation as much as possible, but the simple fact that Zelda and the couple are basically strangers made that even more awkward. Sabrina, too, had enrolled her help with a few minor last-minute tasks around the booth, Roz and Theo striking up a short conversation or two. Now, they are all busy with showing off their club to interested students and their parents, and Zelda is at a complete loss for what to do. 

So she lets her eyes wander around the room, picking a person at random, following their movement for a minute or two, then she moves on to the next.   
It's a rather boring task, given that they are all confined to Baxter High's gym and surrounded by booths to promote sports, clubs and sell tickets to some kind of lottery that benefits some local business. She finds Harvey's father in the crowd, surprised he's even here and stays with him a few moments longer than she's done others. 

Next, her gaze hefts onto a brunette, her back to Zelda, dark dress hugging her figure maybe just that tad bit too inappropriately for a room full of students, and Zelda is intrigued enough to keep looking. It's, she muses, the first actually interesting thing around here. The dress ends about mid-thigh and Zelda spends way too much time checking out the expanse of bare legs that seem to go on forever. 

She can say with a hundred percent certainty, that she would not have been embarrassed in the slightest, had she been caught by either Hilda or Sabrina, but when the brunette turns and meets her sly smile with one of her own, Zelda feels herself blush. And, Zelda realizes, it's not only being caught, that has her cheeks turn a faint red color. 

The woman is stunning, the dark locks Zelda has been admiring from behind framing a pair of impressive blue eyes. Those are fixed exclusively on hers and Zelda feels the blush deepen even more when her attention is diverted from the blue orbs to a smirking mouth. It's painted a bright red color, almost matching the rings around their pinkie fingers. It's almost scary how captivated she is by the simple sight and Zelda needs an embarrassingly long moment to realize the woman has moved.

And then she's coming her way, smile never dropping, just like there's something she knows and Zelda doesn't. Zelda thinks about turning around and pretending to be interested in the talk about equality and women's rights going on just behind her, but then she decides against it. What did it matter if she stared for a couple moments longer, when the only reason the woman is probably coming over anyway is because she's seen Zelda checking her out. So the red-head pushes herself up off he wall she's been finding herself casually leaning against during her visual round of the room, and prepares to meet whomever she's just been visually following around. 

It's ridiculous, Zelda chides herself inwardly, when the first thing she tries getting a glimpse at when the brunette is close enough, is her String Of Fate. If it is still a bright red color, her new almost-acquaintance hasn't met her soulmate yet and, while Zelda has no illusions (or interest) to the woman being hers, she still wants to know if it's turned dark yet. And if there might be a husband or boyfriend (or, judging by the flirty smile still adorning her lips, a girlfriend or wife) in the picture. Therefore, her next glance discretely checks out a certain other finger of the same hand. The former is a bright, almost sparkling red shade; the latter completely bare. It's the way Zelda likes it the best. 

The arrival of the woman directly at their booth is what brings Zelda out of her imaginations and musings and she tries to come of as nonchalant as possible, given that they've been checking each other out for the last few minutes. Her hand outstretched already, to make this greeting as normal and confident as possible, the smile on her lips softening in a clear invitation. 

“It's nice to finally meet you” Zelda feels a hand slip into hers and give it a gentle squeeze, eyes never straying from the blue orbs trained on hers. There also seems to be mutual understanding, that neither woman is pulling their hand back after the greeting is done. 

“Zelda” She provides readily. From up close, the woman looks even more beautiful and, after breaking eye contact Zelda's eyes are drawn to the pair of red painted lips, still curved in a knowing smirk. And then both their eyes drop to their still joined hands, and they fly apart so fast as if you'd exploded a bomb in between their palms. 

Both women are staring at their right hands in utter disbelief, examining the dark red circle in great detail. The dark red circle, which had been shining bright just a minute ago. The one, neither of them actually ever expected to change color, especially not like this. In her state of mind, it takes Zelda a full minute to register that she should be the only one of the two of them to be shocked by the sight, because she should be the only one seeing it. Unless the woman she's been fascinated with since she's first laid eyes on, is a witch, too. And the only other witch around Baxter High she knows of is...

“Ms. Wardwell!” No, this is not happening. She is absolutely not attracted to the woman she's sworn she doesn't want to even get to know, and she is definitely not her soulmate. This is nothing more than a trick of light, or a cruel joke executed by the witch in front of her. Or maybe Sabrina is talking to someone else completely and Zelda is freaking out over nothing at all. 

So she chances a glance at her niece pushing her way through the gathered crowd around their booth and, unfortunately, head straight towards them. But at least, Zelda notices, Ms. Wardwell doesn't seem to be all that pleased about the events either. She's about to politely and inconspicuously retreat from the stilled conversation and has her mind set on pretending nothing of this ever happened, when Sabrina arrives at her side. Zelda heaves a low sigh. So much for running away before this got even more awkward. 

“I see you've already met my aunt Zelda” The teenager, oblivious to what just happened, seems incredibly delighted about the fact. Zelda can't for the life of her figure out, why it is so important to Sabrina for her to get to know her teacher, but if it makes the girl happy, Zelda will grit her teeth and make it through another five minutes of this awkward situation. 

“Sabrina, hello” The smile she sends the blonde is genuine and for a moment Zelda can see why her niece is so attached to the other woman. When her niece leans in for a quick hug, which Ms. Wardwell returns without hesitation, Zelda however raises an eyebrow. She's never been this friendly with any of her teachers. “Yes, I have” Then she addresses Zelda directly once more. “Please, call me Mary” 

The teasing and flirting smirk is gone and she isn't offering her hand once more. They have a nosy teenager as an audience and the last thing they need is to draw attention to the thing they try to pretend hadn't happened. 

“Very nice to meet you” It's the best she can come up with and she really hopes Sabrina hasn't heard their earlier conversation and Zelda can excuse herself from this by pretending her and Mary had already gotten acquainted over their short words earlier. She crosses her arms over her chest to hide her hand from her niece, letting an almost non-visible smile cross her face when she sees Ms. Wardwell do something similar. 

And then, praise Satan, Sabrina steers the conversation to the booth behind them and gushes over how great of a reception their club is getting and how grateful she is and always will be for Ms. Wardwell stepping in as adviser. Zelda pushes back against the wall she's been leaning on minutes before and lets the conversation flow without her, especially when Hilda joins them and Zelda has a hard time not widely gesticulating her point of how stupid she thinks all of this is with both her hands. To insult the children's work wouldn't really help her making any friends and Hilda would no doubt catch a glimpse of her pinkie. And just as much as she doesn't need her niece meddling, she also does not need her sister to start asking questions. 

She tries not to think about what had happened, still trying to convince herself it actually didn't. But by the way Mary Wardwell is actively trying to not look anywhere near Zelda, she just knows it's futile. And not a joke the teacher has set up to mess with her when she'd caught Zelda checking her out. She tunes out the conversation around her and her thoughts about Soulmates completely, absently watching her niece give her presentation about what their club's purpose is and what they want to achieve and slips out the building the first chance she gets. 

\-----

She's neither the first, nor the last parent or older sibling, that sooner or later finds themselves out front in the designated smoking area. But she definitely thinks she's the only one who actually really needs the break. She's thought about leaving the school grounds all together, maybe even heading home since she's fulfilled both of her promises to her niece, but the couple occupying the space are putting out their stumps and are heading inside again. And she's really not in the mood for walking home, even if that means enduring the boring High School Fair for a few more hours. 

She'd barely made it through the girls' introduction of WICCA, mainly because listening to her niece talking provided a great distraction from the woman she'd desperately tried not to look at or think of. The fact, that Zelda has felt an instant physical attraction to Mary Wardwell was making this so much more difficult. 

Under different circumstances, Zelda would have flirted her way through the next few hours, would have probably gone home with the other woman instead of her family and have hoped for a pleasant night of not talking. And yes, she might have even still done that after Mary had turned out to be Sabrina's teacher. No matter what she thinks of the woman, she was hot and definitely interested – and Zelda wouldn't ever have to see her again if she didn't want to. 

But the Soulmate String through her for a loop. She doesn't necessarily does not want a Soulmate, but she's also not really fond of the idea either. She's a firm believer in making her own fate, and being bound to the one person she right now could without a doubt say she couldn't stand does not in the slightest help with that. 

She inhales deep with a first drag of her cigarette, leaning her head against the wall behind her, eyes closed. Why did this happen to her, she muses on a long exhale, smoke billowing out in front of her. This alone time is exactly what she needs to be distracted from her current thoughts. She recites passages of the Satanic Bible in her head, seemingly the only thing keeping Mary Wardwell out off it for a few moments, when the door to her right swings open. Zelda ignores it, happy to be in her little bubble, that doesn't include her new-found Soulmate – at least not all that much. 

“I'm assuming some of those thoughts revolve around me?” The woman in question asks softly about seeing the slight frown upon Zelda's face. It only deepens at the sound of her voice. 

“Unfortunately” And surprisingly, it's not as sharp an answer as both women have anticipated. Zelda's eyes open, finding Mary leaning against the wall next to her, not daring to come close enough to accidentally touch the other witch. “Is that why you're following me?” 

“Believe it or not, but I'm probably out here for the same reason you are.” She turns to face Zelda, arms crossed over her chest and, even though she doesn't want to have this conversation, Zelda mimics her movement. 

“I don't see you smoking” She takes another drag, turning her head, to blow the smoke into the open evening air instead of her companions face. 

Mary gives her a pointed look, clearly not talking about a smoke break, but says nothing. She does, however, reach over and, careful of any accidental touch, extracts the burning cigarette out off Zelda's hands. Maintaining eye-contact, she brings it to her lips, pointedly takes a long drag and lets it out in a drawn out exhale. Then she puts the smoke back into Zelda's hand. 

They are silent for a long while, then. 

“So, Sabrina seem to be pretty invested in that club of hers” It's a way to break the awkward silence and, with a heavy eye roll, Mary takes it. 

“She's doing great work, campaigning for equality and such. They all are. I really think it's helping people accept Theo and other transgender kids more.” 

Silence again and, without thinking about it, Zelda offers her freshly lit cigarette the the other woman. Mary, equally without thinking, takes it immediately. There is, however, carefully no brush of bare skin involved. 

Either woman, or both of them really, could leave. They don't know each other good or long enough to warrant a conversation and by the looks of it, they don't even like each other enough to either. But they're both curious and stubborn and they'd be damned, if one of them would give into the awkwardness and admit there is something awkward at all. 

“So, how much of a chance you think there is, that we both imagined this earlier?” Mary squashes the stub of their shared cigarette under her black High heels. She does good work of pretending she's not as surprised as she is that Zelda opens that conversation back up. 

“There's only one way to find out” She reaches out her hand as for a gentle handshake, but she doesn't initiate the contact without Zelda's agreement. She waits a full minute for the red-head to make a decision, and when Zelda places her hand in Mary's, it's nothing they haven't seen before. There's not much way at all from one pinky pressed to the other, but there's an unmistakable little string connecting both. Also, there's the dark red color that technically made this whole experiment redundant. 

“That's not possible” Mary lets out with a genuine air of surprise, but this time she make no move to pull her hand back as if they'd just been burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it :) 
> 
> I KNOW some of you are probably (hopefully) still waiting for the last part of my fic 'company you keep' and I had planned to update this months ago already.
> 
> But then work got crazy and for some unknown reason I also had a very difficult time putting this chapter into words. I am working on that rigjt now, too and no matter what happens with it, you will get a conclusion by the end of the week at the latest!


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The parent/teacher meeting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, but I kinda lost track of time and it wouldn't let me post yesterday. But here you go! To make up for it, I will be posting Chapter 3 on sunday, so there will be two updates this week :) 
> 
>  
> 
> I know, I said I will not include Part 2 and Theo, but I have been made aware that some people might get turned off reading this story (and might not generally like the fact) since Theo is misgendered. As I stated, there was no ill will behind it, but since he's just a minor side character I didn't want to leave out complete though I have decided to change Suzie to Theo from Chapter 1 already.
> 
> It's only a minor change, and you don't need to go back and read it, since it technically has no effect on the story, plotwise, but I just wanted to make you aware of the change!

Chapter II 

"You know, I'm not happy about this either" Zelda starts, pulling her hand out off Mary's grasp. She has no idea where it comes from, after all she really doesn't want to be Mary Wardwell's Soulmate, but her reaction made Zelsa angry. Maybe, Zelda wonders, it's because she's not really used to rejection. Of course, there had been some people who haven't given into her advances, but in the end they weren't all that important.

To Zelda personally, Mary isn't important enough to let anger take over, but when Zelda believes in the Soulmate stories, she should eventually be. And it's not like Mary hadn't been just as interested in her as Zelda had Mary earlier. 

"Yes, of course" She's so not happy about this development. There's no way Mary is telling Zelda the real reason why this can't, at all, be possible. Like how she's pretending to be someone she's not for the last few weeks. Like how she has no actual soul that could just have found its counterpart. 

She's not technically immune to falling in love, at least she thinks so, since it hadn't happened for centuries. But no matter how much the real Mary Wardwell may or may not be Zelda Spellmann's Soulmate, it should have died the moment Lilith, demon and future queen of hell, had taken over the unsuspecting teacher's body.

Telling Zelda who she really is would greatly compromise the mission the Dark Lord has sent her to earth for.

So she plays along, pretending to have no interest in being bound to the woman who seems to have made her mind up about Mary Wardwell before even ever meeting her in person. It's not like she is actually interested in the whole Soulmate part of the evening, but the fact that it happened has her shocked enough, that she can't even begin to think about if she would want Zelda as hers.

"Look" Mary finally interrupts Zelda’s rambling she's only been half listening to. She knows what's beig said without hearing the words. "I have no interest in being your Soulmate any more than you have in being mine. I don't even know you" A lie. She knows enough about Zelda, that she knows she's beautiful and head-strong and stubborn. And in different circumstances, she'd be taking full advantage of their obvious physical attraction to get close to Sabrina - and, admittedly, to have some fun of her own. "And don't worry" she adds at a raused eyebrow "I have also no intention of changing that"

"Glad we agree on that" Zelda’s voice is cold, the conversation over and done with for her. Briefly, she wonders where the light mood they've tried to establish went and, when exactly it left. And then the two women look at each other for a short moment before Zelda leaves without another word. The mutual agreement to pretend this never happened and avoid each other again from now on silent, but very much there.

Back inside, Zelda doesn't want to go back to her niece's booth, Mary will be spending most of her time there, too, but she doesn't really have anywhere else to go either. So she joins her sister in some more awkward conversation with people she doesn't know at all and prays to Satan that they can leave soon.

\--

It takes exactly three days for Sabrina to start asking questions. Zelda had made the mistake of flaunting a book the girl had, ironically, borrowed from Mary of all people, directly in front of her face. She'd been trying to make a point, that this is not to be happening again, seeing the book is magic and that only ever means Sabrina is up to something she shouldn't be. It seemed to have worked, to have an actual effect on the teenager for a moment - until she'd gotten distracted by a dark red circle that she hadn't seen colored that shade yet. And then the interrogation began. 

For a brief moment, Zelda had played with the thought of being surprised, claiming she hadn't even noticed it herself yet. But that has been exactly one moment too long and Sabrina didn't buy it anymore after Zelda’s hesitation. So she had let the girl ramble on about how fascinating it is and about how happy she is for her aunt - all the while Zelda tried to create a fake person in her mind she would not ever introduce to her family. 

In the end, she decides on a different tactic all together. 

"To be honest" she starts, sinking back into the couch and fiddling an unlit cigarette between her fingers. Sabrina's rambling stops abruptly, leaning forward in her own seat, eager to hear all about her aunt's newfound Soulmate. "I don't know who it is" She gauges her niece's reaction for a second but she can see the girl is not really buying it yet. With a sigh, she improvises another sentence. "It must have happened so fleetingly that I didn't notice it at the time" 

There's a full minute of silence after that, in which Zelda thinks she'd manageed to squash the conversation before it even really started. Unfortunately, Sabrina's never been one to let things go so easily. And yes, Zelda knows that, but she thinks she's allowed to hope sometimes. 

"There seems to be a lot of that going around at the moment" The teenager half-mumbles to herself, just loud enough for Zelda to catch it. She's not sure she likes where this is going. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" Still, she has to ask. She really needs to know, what her niece does. 

"Ms Wardwell said about the same thing when I asked her yesterday" And Zelda starts to panic. Obviously Sabrina doesn't know anything since Mary seemed to have kept to her word and ignore their situation. How possible is it though, that Sabrina doesn't connect the dots, when two people close to her spin the same story? Just days after they met for the first time? "But since your obviously mortal Soulmate didn't see it, I guess it's possible the two of you didn't notice either" One of her shoulders lifts in a shrug, just before she exitedly starts hashing out plans to find the two people destined to be with her aunt and teacher. 

Zelda doesn't listen.

First, she's too glad about the fact that Sabrina won't try and push her and Mart together because that's clearly where they belonged. Then she starts to panic again. Because Zelda’s String Of Fate definitely hadn't been discolored before Saturday and she hadn't been at the Academy or the church since then. Even if she had, there is probably not a single witch or warlock (even including the teenagers and children) she hasn't at least shaken hands with before. That means, the only place it could have happened was Baxter High and - if you exclude her family and Mary Wardwell - only with a mortal. A mortal Sabrina would probably know or who's at least not that hard to track down since they had to be a resident of their small town. 

And, right this moment, Zelda doesn't know which is worse. Her admitting that it's Mary she's bound to or her niece organizing a search party for whatever man or woman she's never going to find. 

"... so if we go early enough, you can talk to a few of the other parents" Sabrina's excited face is all she needs to realize she should have paid more attention. 

"Excuse me, what?" Whatever the girl's idea, the answer was going to be no. Just like she should have done Friday and she'd have avoided all this. 

"The parent-teacher meeting" Sabrina deadpans as if it should be obvious. Which it probably was, since Zelda had spaced out on almost everything the girl had said earlier. "Auntie Hilda will sure understand why you need to go this time when we tell her what's going on" 

"What?" It's by far not the most eloquent response, but it is, for a second, all she can come up with. Then. "No, there's no way I am going to discuss your mortal schooling, just to interact with a bunch of annoying people beforehand" Not even if Sabrina would actually be onto something here. Or if she didn't resent Mary Wardwell so much for meddling in family affairs and pulling Sabrina further away from her in the process. "And" she adds, almost as an afterthought. "We will not tell your aunt Hilda about this - or Ambrose for that matter" 

"But auntie Zee..." 

"Are we clear on that?" Zelda hasn't been that serious about something in a long while. Not even her persuasions for Sabrina to have her Dark Baptism have been layed out with such a sharp edge to her voice. 

"Yes" And even Sabrina knows when it's best to keep her mouth shut. 

\-- 

Just under two weeks later, Zelda does exactly what she'd promised Sabrina she wouldn't do. Well, not the showing up early to look for her Soulmate - but the parent/teacher meeting part of the conversation. She'd been trying to get out of it ever since Hilda woke up sick this morning, because surely her niece is doing fine enough in school that there's really no need for a conversation with any of her teachers - least of all Ms. Wardwell. But sadly she realized pretty early on that there was no getting out off it. Even with Sabrina being a model student it was important to show you cared about your child's schooling. Besides, it was an appointment set weeks ago and to just not show or cancel on short notice would be rude. 

Not that Zelda cares much about that, but she knows her sister does and so she reluctantly agreed to make an appearance. 

The more she thinks about it, the surer she is this has nothing to do with a simole flu, but everything with their Strings Of Fate. Finding your Soulmate pushes you together through all kinds of logical and even unlogical situations, usually as long as it takes for both parties to fall in love - or to at least stop denying it. Zelda once heard a story about two teenagers from different countries being stuck together in a cave for hours after an avalanche on the same ski trip with their respective schools. If stories are to be believed, they are married with great-grandchildren to this day. 

More importantly though, if stories are to be believed, her sister definitely doesn't just simply have a cold. Hilda hasn't been seriously sick for a least a century and Zelda had, surprisingly, managed to avoid Mary for almost two whole weeks now. Of course this couldn't last.

She spends most of her day hiding in her room or the embalming room, claiming to help out Ambrose, in order to avoid her niece. As soon as Sabrina heard Zelda was going tonight, she's started begging her aunt to take her with her to help find this mysterious Soulmate. And Zelda had told her that this was, under no circumstances, happening. But of course the girl didn't want to hear any of it.

So, when the time comes, Zelda almost sneaks out off the front door without announcing her leaving. She hears Sabrina rummaging through the kitchen, making soup or tea for Hilda and she has no doubt that the girl would drop everything to go with her.

The drive into town takes no time at all, which annoys Zelda even further. She'd planned to spend that time cursing her fate and prepare what to say to get all her meetings done with as fast as possible and without killing anyone. Luckily, for probably everyone, her talk with Mary is sheduled last, otherwise she would probably rip off more than a few heads.

She admits, that the whole Soulmate thing wouldn't irk her so much if it had been almost anyone else. Yes, she wants to fall in love and be with whoever she wants to, but she could live with getting to know and love a person she would normally have no more contact with after an initial, fleeting meeting. It's just that her mind had been made up about not liking Mary Wardwell and she had (still has) no intention of that ever changing. So no, she doesn't want to be forced to soend any more time with the woman than she already has.

Of course, with Sabrina being as good a student as she is, in almost every one of her classes, Zelda is done with all of her appointments way earlier than she would have thought. Checking her watch, she sees she has about fifteen more minutes before her last meeting, which she decides to spend out front, lighting a cigarette as soon as she steps out off the building. She ignores the looks she gets from the parents, because technically there is no smikong area anywhere on the school grounds (the corner she'd vanished to two weeks ago being specially designated for that day). She even bites her tongue to not mutter some spell over an especially obnoxious couple trying to tell her to put out the smoke. In the end, she simply turns around, leaving the outraged but thankfully heading home. Cursing innocent, if annoying, mortals just because she has a bad day is probably nothing she should actually be doing.

Using the rest of her time wisely, Zelda finally does what she didn't have time for on the car ride here. She will keep the conversation as short as possible, keeping her distance and definitely will not stray a single sentence from professional and the conversation she's planning in her head just now. They can wait this out, until Fate realizes it's made a mistake or until it's at keast frustrated enough to give up pushing the two most stubborn people on earth together.

Stubbing out her second cigarette only halfway through, Zelda heaves a deep sigh and slowly makes her way back inside. She follows the hallways all the way to Mary Wardwell's office before she consciously registers she should have no idea where it is located nor how to get there. An eye roll is all she allows herself to show how frustrated she is, even though what she really likes to do is scream at Fate to stop messing with her life. Then she raises her hand to knock and after hearing a muted 'enter', reluctantly opens the door. 

"Ms. Spellmann, it's so good..." Mary is rounding her desk to greet her visitor, but stops abruptly when she sees who entered. Yes, she would probably have great fun teasing the other witch about their situation and her reluctance to accept it, had she not the same apprehension towards it. "Hello" is what she changes the rest of her sentence to. There's no need to be completely impolite, especially since the two women need to spend the next fifteen minutes stuck in this room, making conversation. She does, however, sit back down behind her desk without offering a hand.

"Hello" Zelda tries to make it sound as nice as possible, given that neither woman wants to be here in the first place. She takes a seat across from Mary and thinks about just blowing the whole talk off. 

She could tell Sabrina, Ms Wardell had nothing but nice things to say about her. But the fact that she doesn't take any part at all in Sabrina's mortal schooling also means, that she has no idea, if there could be some little thing Mary had need to mention. And when Zelda arrives home pretending everything is fine, Sabrina would know she hadn't actually gone to the meeting. She also has no idea what Mary will tell Sabrina, should the girl ask her favorite teacher the same thing tomorrow.

"I didn't expect to see you here" She has no idea why she just doesn't cut to the chase. The sooner they talk about Sabrina, the sooner they are done here.

"I didn't expect to be here either" It's more casual and a lot less biting than either woman has anticipated. Mary is no fan of the Soulmate as well, but she is smart enough to know that she needs to stay on the family's good side as much as possible. Zelda has no such needs however, and it shows in her choice of words and demeanor. If she behaves bitchy and rude enough, maybe Mary would start actively avoiding her and not only be glad for the days they don't accidentally run into each other. 

That's why Zelda surprises herself, when she offers an explanation, instead of changing the subject to why anyone had to be here in the first place. "My sister has come down with the flu last night"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Please tell ger I hope she gets better soon" Mary says, and it's not even a fake attempt to portray something she doesn't feel. 

Contrary to what she tries telling herself, that she only spends her time being nice to Hilda to stay close to Sabrina and on track with her mission, she'll have to admit sooner or later, that she does like the other woman.

"Of course" Zelda leans back in her chair a bit, unconsciously making herself more comfortable. She's almost forgetting she wants to get out off there as fast as possible. "Thank you" And it's just as honest as Mary's well-wishes had been.

"You could have canceled though, you know" It's rather soft and non-accusatory and more like a suggestion for Zelda’s benefit thatn anything else. "Sabrina is doing fine enough that we can wrap this up in under a minute." Which means, no talk at all would have been just as fine.

"Please" Zelda emits on a small near-laugh "We both know exactly why we're here still" And when Mary makes herself more comfortable in her own chair, crossing her legs at the knee and almost absently flicks a lock of hair over her shoulder with her right hand, Zelda is almost tempted to look. She fixes her gaze on her own hands in her lap instead to keep from staring at either of the two points begging for her attention.

"Yes" Mary says with a sigh "I am actually impressed with how long this took" 

"I was even begining to hope I've imagined that whole evening" She's still looking at her hands, doesn't see Mary do the same at Zelda’s words. They are examining the clear evidence, that there is absolutely nothing imaginary about their first meeting two weeks ago. "Sabrina noticed" 

"I know" Mary lifts her eyes to look at Zelda, one eyebrow raised. She's surprised they are still talking about this. "I didn't tell her anything" 

"No, me neither" For a moment their eyes lock, as Zelda looks up at Mary, but they avert their gaze pretty quickly. The insane physical attraction is definitely still there - and still as unhelpful as it had been twi weeks ago. "She thinks it's some mortal she desperately wants to help me find" 

What follows is a short laugh coming from the woman opposite her. At Zelda’s silent question, Mary only confirms that she had a similar conversation with the girl at least every other day since she's noticed. 

Mary had come up with every excuse in the book as to why it's not necessary to start a search party. Apart from the truth - or at least a half truth in which she would admit to knowing her Soulmate, but omiting to include Zelda as the person in question. Because Sabrina is comfortable enough with her to pry until she either kniws who it is or until she's been introduced. And since Sabrina can see their Strings, she can't even make up a fake szenario to get the girl off her back. 

"So, how's she doing?" Zelda finally directs the conversation in the direction she's came here for. To her utter surprise she realizes, that the conversation they had until now hasn't been as tedious as she'd imagined it to be beforehand. She had her mind set strictly on talking business and getting out off there, but when she looks at the time, she noticed their meeting is already running a few minutes late - and they haven't even discussed her niece yet. 

"Sabrina is doing great. Doesn't miss classes, always has her assignments on time." Mary pretends to go through a studentfile in front of her just for the sake of it. Sabrina is the only student at Baxter High she actually cares about so she knows her grades and attendance by heart." Grades are steady" There's a little sigh that she pairs with a eye roll and tries to makes as believable as possible. "I think she could do with a little less magical meddling in mortal affairs" It's not like Mary constantly encourages said trait, but Zelda doesn't know that and it's probably also what the red head wants to hear her say. 

"You and me both" Zelda answers on a slight laugh. And then she wraps this meeting up as fast as possible because she's spent way too much time on it already for someone who didn't want to be there in the first place. "If there's nothing else..." 

"Oh no, please. We're running late as it is" Mary stands up from her seat, reaching out a hand in good-bye. Zelda almost takes it, too, until they rememberwhy they shouldn't. "Right. So I guess I'll see you around" There's no enthusiasm behind it, just a simple fact. 

"Yea..." There's not a single way to keep that from happening, no matter how hard they wished for it. 

\--

It doesn't take another two weeks after the parent teacher meeting for them to run into each other again. In fact, just a day later, Sabrina forgets something vital she needs for second period, and since Hilda is still not well enough to go out, Zelda has to do the honors. She meets Sabrina in front of the right classroom, hands over the binder she's brought with her and makes to leave pretty fast. That's when she finds out she's standing in front of Ms. Wardwell's room and of course just then, the woman shows up at the door to beckon Sabrina inside. They make it through the polite hellos for the teenager's sake and then Zelda leaves. She, however, fears that this has been the easiest of their fateful meetings. 

Unfortunately, she's completely right in that assumption. 

Sabrina is always around at their encounters, since Zelda has to drive her around town for this and that rather often all of a sudden. That, however, means the two women can not just pass each other in the mall and go their separate ways without interaction. No, Fate had planned for that eventuality. Sabrina is highly animated and happy every time she sees her favorite teacher, which of course leads to Zelda being dragged over and engaged in conversations she really rather not have. 

And she's not the only one. Yes, Mary technically does not havr the same obligation to appease Sabrina's wishes every now and then to keep the peace between aunt and niece. She could just brush off the girl every time and save herself - and Zelda for that matter - from those talks. But how is she to push Sabrina towards the goal The Dark Lord has set for her, if the girl doesn't trust and come to her anymore? 

Sabrina and their love and task for the girl. It's the only reason, they tell themselves, both women endure this torture of conversing in an aisle of a busy grocery store and talking over coffee in a corner shop Sabrina loves and talked them into. 

At least they have successfully managed to either avoid any contact at all or to hide their hands from Sabrina's view during a quick handshake. It's bad enough as it is, they do not, under no circumstances, need the teenager meddling in another thing she has no business having her nose in. 

And then it's a few weeks and several unplanned - and unwanted - run ins later, and Zelda has to reluctantly admit, that she might not actually hate the other woman. There's a long way to go yet to say she likes Mary - and an even longer to begin thinking there could be even more - but Zelda graduately comes to not dreading their meetings and conversations anymore.


End file.
